Camp Atterbury operations not at risk of cuts

Most employees of Camp Atterbury don’t face the significant federal spending cuts set to begin Friday.

The military installation near Edinburgh will be mostly shielded from the impact of the upcoming federal cuts, Indiana National Guard spokeswoman Lt. Col. Cathy Van Bree said.

The cuts will include slashing 13 percent of national defense funding, according to a White House report.

The Indiana National Guard will be required to make cuts to handle the funding drop. About 1,000 of the Indiana National Guard’s full-time military technicians would be furloughed and required to take one day off per week without pay, Van Bree said. Those technicians include staff such as groundskeepers, maintenance workers and human resources personnel.

The furlough could affect a few of those technicians at Camp Atterbury, but most people will remain at full time. Since Camp Atterbury is a national mobilization site, most of its funding comes from a different source, which is not being cut, Van Bree said.

“The immediate sequester probably will not have much effect at Camp Atterbury,” Van Bree said.

Total military cuts in Indiana would be about $64.4 million and affect 11,000 civilian employees, the White House report said.

Programs at risk

Here is a list of some programs in Indiana that are at risk of losing federal funding if automatic, across-the-board spending cuts take effect Friday:

Head Start and Early Head Start — Service would be eliminated for about 1,000 children. These programs provide early education for children of lower-income families. Human Services Inc. operates both programs in Bartholomew County.

Military — About 11,000 civilian Department of Defense employees would be furloughed. Army base operating funding would be cut about $1.7 million. Air Force operations in the state would be cut about $7 million. The Army National Guard operates an armory in Columbus, Camp Atterbury in Edinburgh and Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in Jennings County.

Teachers and schools — Indiana will lose about $13.8 for primary and secondary education, putting about 190 teacher and aide jobs at risk.

Education for children with disabilities — About $12.4 million would be cut for about 150 teachers, aides and staff who help children with disabilities.

Anti-violence — State could lose about $138,000 that provides services to victims of domestic abuse.

Work-study jobs — About 2,170 fewer low-income students would receive aid to help them finance the cost of college, and more than 1,000 fewer students would receive work-study jobs to pay for college.

Environment — Indiana would lose about $3.3 million in environmental funding for ensuring clean water and air quality, and preventing pollution from pesticides and hazardous waste.

Public health — State would lose about $1.7 million for treating substance abuse, resulting about 1,100 fewer admissions. Indiana State Department of Health would lose about $146,000, resulting in 3,700 fewer HIV tests. Funding for vaccines would be reduced $189,000, meaning almost 2,800 fewer children would receive vaccines for diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, influenza and whooping cough.

Job assistance — State would lose about $683,000 in funding for job-search assistance, referral and placement.

Source: White House

Towers in jeopardy

Some airport towers in Indiana are at risk of closing because of automatic, across-the-board federal spending cuts that could go into effect Friday. The federal Transportation Department is targeting airports with 150,000 or fewer flights annually, including: